Why “sassy” just doesn’t go over very well with black folks
In her Newsweek piece “No Apologies,” Raina Kelley asks her white fellow journalists to loosen up a bit and not be so afraid of being perceived as racist when discussing the Obamas.
For the most part I agree with Kelley, but I think she misses the mark with this paragraph (emphasis mine):
I know there are plenty of Internet sheriffs trolling the airwaves for the next Imus-style outrage. Ignore them. Of course, if you send an e-mail cartoon depicting the front lawn of the White House as a watermelon patch, as the mayor of Los Alamitos, Calif., did last week, you’re on your own. But there is simply nothing racist about saying that adorable little Sasha Obama is “sassy.” The Huffington Post got clobbered for pointing out a “sassy” pair of sunglasses the president’s daughter was sporting. You know, cute, sporty, fresh.
Here’s the thing though: “sassy” is a loaded word with a particular history among black people — especially older black people — that makes it an inappropriate choice when discussing the Obama girls.
If you had asked me two months ago, I probably would have agreed with Kelley. I worshipped at the temple of Sassy magazine in the early-to-mid 1990s. To this day, I consider it “The Greatest F*cking Teen Magazine EVAR!!!” — at least while it was under Jane Pratt’s leadership.
So “sassy” to me always meant fresh, different, distinctively smart and stylish , perhaps even precocious. I have full faith that this is what most (white) writers mean when they describe Sasha Obama as “sassy.”
Then I had a conversation with my 65-year-old mother. You see, back in her day, and I suspect for many black people still, “sassy,” does not mean “cute, sporty, fresh.” “Sassy” does not mean “smart” or “stylish” either. To black folks, “sassy” means “too grown,” — alternatives might be “fast,” “smart-mouthed,” or “hussy.”
But the meaning of “sassy” that make many black people say “Oh HELL to the NAW” — and this is critical — is “stepping out of her place.”
Do you feel me? Anything that suggests black folks have a place and should stay in it just ain’t going over very well with Negroes in the new millennium. And a word that suggests that a little girl was acting out of turn when she is actually well-behaved, albeit extroverted? Yeah, that will rankle a few folks.
In that context, calling Sasha “sassy” is a reminder of our collective cultural tendency to label black behavior as different, exceptional, and worse than white behavior. For example: the violence rappers say versus the realistic violence movies show.*
Plus, “sassy black woman” is so cliched. It is a word that conjures up the finga snappin’, neck rollin’, LOUD-MOUTHED, funky attitude having archetype that so many black women don’t fit and/or actively resist. It’s an insulting stereotype.
“Sassy” then is a word much like “uppity.” It’s coded language that is often used to demean or dismiss black women, particularly (though not always and not exclusively) when used by a white person.
It’s also a word, much like “trifling,” that carries two different meanings depending on the community and audience among whom it’s used. For Kelley, who is black, to say “there is simply nothing racist” about the word “sassy” ignores a history, a context, and a definition that dictionaries just don’t reflect.
UPDATE: Huffington Post Keeps Referring to Sasha Obama as “SASSY” offers some extra insight into this debate.
* As Jay-Z put it “Scarface the movie / did more than Scarface the rapper to me.”
Thank you for articulating this appropriately. I've been rolling my eyes at folks who have been up in arms about this, but they have not been effectively communicating why it was an issue for them–thus they looked crazy.
I agree wholeheartedly with you!
So Liz, if someone doesn't explain "why" something is offensive, then we can just ignore them and roll our eyes at them until they justify to our satisfaction just what they are offended by?
Ha! Yeah, she did a whole episode on her show "Wanda, At Large" about being called sassy by her boss. It was brilliant. I was trying to find that episode or a clip, but no dice. That TIME article is as close as I could get.
Thanks Liz
. My first reaction was "What? Crazy black folks just making us all look bad." LOL. But then my mom explained why she was uncomfortable with it. I was thinking "sassy" = "precocious." But she was pissed.
But Cranky, if you can't articulate why you're angry then how can I discern whether your point is legit?
I agree with Raina Kelley. I would just take it a step farther. Be not afraid of tip-toeing into the race conversation and be prepared to be challenged by things you may write. Be open to the prospect of open cultural discourse. Be happy about the chance to have "words matter" discussions. Be ready to be "wrong." Be willing to admit it when it happens. Be seeking to connect rather than distance oneself from your neighbors, friends, readers.
I agree with Raina Kelley. I would just take it a step farther. Be not afraid of tip-toeing into the race conversation and be prepared to be challenged on things you may write. Be open to the prospect of open cultural discourse. Be happy about the chance to have "words matter" discussions. Be ready to be "wrong." Be willing to admit it when it happens. Be seeking to connect rather than distance oneself from your neighbors, friends, readers.
that's just it tony, it *DOES* — at least as my mama explained it. her whole point was that "sassy" in that "don't be sassin' me" context is about the same as calling sasha a hussy / tramp / trollop / smart-mouth snot who is acting a lil too "grown" for her age. that's CLEARLY not the case for sasha. and that connotation implicitly sexualizes her in a way that a 7 year old should not be.
I like the word precocious and think it is a good compliment for young ladies. Precocious young ladies with proper support become kick ass young women. Sassy can have a bit of a wrong connotation be ye black or white over a certain age. I was told as a child not to "sass".
I think Sassy magazine wanted to re-appropriate the word and turn it around for a better meaning.
All I needed to think about to get the context for your mom's position is to remember my own 75-year-old mom getting her back up over my behavior, levelling a steely glance at me and saying, with ice water running through her veins, "Don't you SASS me." That's enough cultural weight right there.
While I can understand why people are excited and rooting for the President, I have to say I find the attention given to his kids is down right creepy. Leave them alone, they're just kids, let them be kids. All this attention can only hurt them in the long run… I think the E channel has proven that point.
As for the use of the word "sassy", Get over it. While we've all been up about political correctness, bankers, realtors and universities have been robbing us blinds! Yes I said universities, single digit tuition increases for double digit unemployment.
no, adama, we've been listening to the right and the rich label these things "political correctness" to hide the fact that they're fucking us over. it's their distraction technique.
they have an incredilbe propaganda machine and you've been pwned by it.
no, adama, we've been listening to the right and the rich label these things "political correctness" to hide the fact that they're fucking us over. naming and words are powerful, as evidenced by your use of the phrase "political correctness." they have an incredilbe propaganda machine and you've been pwned by it.
the "sassy" archetype isn't about being polite. it's about realizing that words shape images and perception, and that this has real life consequences for real life people.
no, adama, we've been listening to the right and the rich label these things "political correctness" to hide the fact that they're fucking us over.
they have an incredilbe propaganda machine and you've been pwned by it.
EXACTLY Cecily. "Sassy" is not complimentary. Maybe folks are confusing "sassy" and "saucy." Either way, it's an uncomfortable word to use when there are better alternatives.
I believe kids are off limits and agree with the fucking us over part but So what?
It's their perception, would a retraction, an apology change it?
If somebody thinks you're sassy wouldn't you rather they come out and say it?
Stories about insensitive words get so much traction in the press while more important problems (HIV, Crime, Education) with bigger real life consequences for real life people stay ignored. That's all I'm saying.
And what I'm saying to you is that words — "framing," "narrative," etc. are part and parcel of that process. And they are used to shape policy. Why, for example, care about fair sentencing laws or crime prevention if they're all animals anyway? Why care about why many black fathers are absent if all black women are sassy, emasculating loudmouths who run men off?
Do you see where I'm going with this? Getting upset about the mental imagery and association that "sassy" conjures up has EVERYTHING to do with those "more important problems"
And what I'm saying to you is that words — "framing," "narrative," etc. are part and parcel of that process. And they are used to shape policy. Why, for example, care about fair sentencing laws or crime prevention if they're all animals anyway? Why care about why many black fathers are absent if all black women are sassy, emasculating loudmouths who run men off?
All fair points but why care about what people in other communities think?
Do Hispanic Americans get upset about the mental imagery African Americans conjure up?
What are the consequences for their lives?
I think we're the only ethnic group who sees itself through other's people's eyes.
In any case, if we cared as much about fair sentencing laws and crime prevention as we do about NY Post Cartoons or RihaBrown then maybe just maybe things would change.